Read more about how the Tackling Inequalities Fund (TIF) brought Lincolnshire together at a time when we all had to stay apart.

The national Tackling Inequalities Fund (TIF) was launched in April 2020 in response to Covid-19, providing £20m of National Lottery funding through Sport England to support community groups across the country. Of that, £20m Sport England has awarded Active Lincolnshire a total of £248,000 through three TIF grant awards to support people most impacted by Covid.

The purpose of the fund is to help local groups continue to exist and engage with people through physical activity, keep them active and connected during the pandemic and continue this good work as we emerge from lockdown and start down the road to recovery.

Tackling Inequalities Fund focuses on communities disproportionately impacted by Covid-19, prevents the inequality gap from widening, and minimises the impact on activity levels.

The target audience the programme is seeking to support includes:

• Culturally diverse communities
• Those on low incomes
• People with long term health conditions
• People with disabilities

Sport England have produced this short film that tells the national story of the Tackling Inequality Fund, how it is making a difference and what we have learnt. The film includes Amy Hodson, 24, from Lincolnshire (pictured below).

Amy's Story

Amy was motivated to leave her wheelchair for the first time in two years after taking part in a TIF step challenge. Amy was born with Gillespie Syndrome, a rare genetic condition that affects the cerebella and the eyes.

The condition causes difficulties with Amy's balance and coordination, and so she uses a wheelchair to get about most of the time. The project, run by Voiceabilty, inspired Amy to start walking with her frame again, and she achieved 14,840 steps during the challenge.

The funding received by Active Lincolnshire has been distributed across the county and has primarily been granted to community and voluntary organisations. The programme has enabled Active Lincolnshire to work with these organisations to develop their understanding of physical activity benefits and support them in incorporating it into their work programmes. It has provided an enhanced understanding of the importance of being active and the broader benefits on physical and mental health and wellbeing, community cohesion and a sense of belonging.

For Active Lincolnshire, the fund has enabled us to break down barriers (either perceived or real) and tackle the inequalities in access to and participation in physical activity that exist in our county. And above all, through working hand in hand with local organisations, we have been able to support the incredible resilience of our communities.

Despite the challenges of the last 16 months, Active Lincolnshire has seen a positive impact of the funding being used across the county. We have supported 52 projects to date, distributing £240,000 of funding across projects in every district. Nine of the projects have had countywide reach, and the total number of individuals positively impacted to date is 8,636.

The Tackling Inequalities Fund is intended to meet both the immediate need and support our community in the early recovery stages from Covid-19 until December 2022. If your organisation or group has a project that would help underrepresented groups be more active, please get in touch with Ian Brown.

You can read more about the Tackling Inequalities Fund here.